Karen Elson

01/06/2010

Already a supermodel, Jack White's wife is set on becoming a music star… with a little help from her old man

By Lauren Mayberry

Karen Elson is stunning. Endless legs, burnt auburn hair and skin that sits somewhere between delicate alabaster and perfect porcelain, the 31-year-old Oldham girl has been a supermodel for 15 years. These days, however, many of us know of Elson for an entirely different reason: the fact she has set up house with Jack White, the Detroit-derived songwriter and producer oft credited with the single-handed resurrection of rock ‘n’ roll.

Elson met White when she starred in the video for ‘Blue Orchid’, the first single from The White Stripes 2005 album, Get Behind Me Satan. Married the same year, they have since moved to Nashville and started a family. The mother of Scarlett, four, and Henry, two, has since embarked on a musical career under the watchful eye of her famous spouse, with her debut album, The Ghost Who Walks, which has just been released. So, just how does she do it?

“It is a lot to juggle but honestly, I’m so used to it now that it all works out. I find time to do all the things I need to do, because you’ll always find time for the things that are important to you, and my family is one of those things.”

Talking to The Big Issue on the phone from the White’s Nashville home, Elson admits she is aware her musical career could be seen as an attempt to exploit her famous husband, who produces and contributes drums to the 11 tracks.

“My first thought was that I probably shouldn’t have Jack produce the record, given all the flack that would go along with that.
“But once I let him hear the songs, he said, ‘Why shouldn’t I? I love you, so this should be something I help you with, rather than something that hinders you’. And he was right – absolutely right.”

Recording at the studio White built in the family back garden – headquarters of Third Man, his independent record label – was a comfortable experience. “I’ve seen him do White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather and so many other projects with his label there. I think that helped when we got into the studio.”

Elson was reluctant to play her husband her material at first. “I was terrified of letting him hear it. For whatever reason, I hid the songs for the longest time. “I’m relieved it’s not been taken purely as a vanity project. That was my biggest fear – that people would slam the record because they’d seen me in magazines or read about us. It’s easy to judge those two-dimensional pictures.”

Having previously worked with the likes of Robert Plant and Cat Power, Elson’s musical foray is more credible than that of Naomi Campbell or Kate Moss

Her album features a host of impressive names, including The Dead Weather’s Jack Lawrence on bass and Jackson Smith – son of Patti Smith and MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith – who also happens to be married to Meg White, Jack’s former wife and bandmate in the Stripes. “We’ve got enough musicians in Nashville to make the record happen, let’s put it that way,” Elson jokes.

Given White’s intensely private, enigmatic persona, it’s difficult not to fantasise about the couple living in their Tennessee farmhouse, each wall red or white with life-sized lego all around, but Elson laughs off such ideas. She was not overwhelmed by White’s persona when they first met. “Of course, I thought The White Stripes were brilliant but Jack and I had a lot of mutual friends, so I think we knew enough about each other that we expected to like each other as people when we first met.”

This relaxed attitude to celebrity perhaps stems from Elson’s familiarity with the limelight herself, having fronted international campaigns for Burberry, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as being a familiar face in Vogue, Elle and Nylon. Discovered as a teenager, she travelled to the catwalks of Tokyo and Milan, living with British model Erin O’Connor in New York in the 1990s. Elson’s appreciation of aesthetics remains and is evident in the bold image and contrasting colours she has developed for the album. “Strong images can really affect people, and it can be a real complement to the music as well. The White Stripes are a great example of that.”

Whilst taking her husband’s tips on such things, Elson is keen to be taken seriously in her own right. “Jack is who he is in the music world, so I didn’t want him to think I was ever going to ride on his coat-tails or use him to get my record. He definitely put his Jack White magic on top of it.
“I tend to get quite introverted about those things, and he basically said to me, ‘Stop being so silly, and get in the studio and sing’.

“I’d heard so many horror stories about couples working together, but it was honestly really nice making a record with him. It was really natural and didn’t feel claustrophobic at all. We recorded it in such a way that we did it over the course of last year, maybe three or four days at a time, and then took a couple of months off before going into the studio a few weeks or months later to do more.

“We didn’t get to that place where we were sick of each other or at each other’s throats.

“If we were in the studio for six weeks in a row, spending 12 hours a day together, there could be a point, naturally, where you start to lose your mind a little, but luckily, we didn’t get to that place.”

Elson wonders if their offspring will inherit any of their musical genes. “They definitely like music, but they’re still so little, it’s hard to tell. Any toddler loves music. If you play it to them they’re going to want to dance and jump around and play it too.” 

At the moment, however, the little ones are entirely unaware of their famous lineage. “It’s just part of their everyday life. They probably think everybody’s parents go off to the studio and record songs every day,” Elson laughs.

“It’s a lot more family-friendly. I feel like me and Jack are really lucky. We’re not going away from the house to work. It’s all in our home, because family is so important to us both.

“We can go to the studio for a few hours, then come home and be with our kids. Some people have jobs where they have to leave at eight in the morning and get home at six o’clock at night.

“Jack and I are really blessed that we don’t have jobs like that. We can cater towards our family’s needs first of all, then do the things we need to do when the kids are in bed. Ultimately, it makes it a lot more family-focussed and stable for our kids, and that was very important to him.”
However, family life for White is currently on hold as he is busy promoting the latest Dead Weather album, Sea of Cowards. “He’s doing all kinds of things. The Dead Weather record is brilliant, so he’s going on tour in July for that, and keeping really busy with his label,” Elson says.

Hours before our interview, it is announced Elson’s UK tour dates have been cancelled. Coy, citing scheduling and timing difficulties, Elson says she hopes to do a longer European tour later in the year, when family life will be a bit easier to organise. “The time wasn’t right, to be honest. I’m juggling a lot but we’re working it out.”

With Jack beside her, she just might.

Karen Elson’s debut album The Ghost Who Walks (XL) is out now